Finale
by SynKaos
Summary: A retelling of the final scenes of Final Fantsy 7, but from two different perspectives.
1. Calm Before the Storm

Finale  
  
Vincent sat hunched forwards, resting his blood red cape over the top of his golden arm. The terracotta walls around him were drenched in pulsating waves of green light. His breathe, hoarse and crippled, seeped through the pores of the cloth over his mouth, his red eyes stared blankly into the hole below. The low hum of the core of the planet had kept his attention for a while. Red XIII, as well, was lying on all fours, breathing deeply, seemingly asleep, but innately intuitive to the limbo below him. In fact, most of the members AVALANCHE were either asleep under blankets or sitting or resting in deep contemplation on the task at hand. To think, the fate of their world, if not others; the dead and the alive; the animals and the humans; everyone they knew and cared about ... their fate depending on whether or not these 8 people; well, 7 humans and one animal; could defeat a God. A god with no fear, no humility, no belief that he can be defeated in anyway, by anyone. A daunting prospect in mind, if not in deed.  
  
A giant, obese Mog stood at one corner of the circular room, an insanely misappropriate smile plastered across his white face. A black cat, in a hat, with a funny megaphone, was perched upon its empty head. All it could do was sit there, merrily waiting until it was given an order from it's master: who was all the way back in Midgar at this time. Cid suddenly awoke from his thinking, swearing loudly and jumping about in frustration.  
  
"For f*** sake!! Why the hell did this happen!!"  
  
"Keep quiet Cid. Even if you can't rest, at least let the others do so." Reeve's muffled voice buzzed from the speakers on the Cait Sith. Cid stomped quietly over to the giant Mog, and stared with narrowed eyes into the camera on the cat.  
  
"How the f*** can you be so calm? We don't know if we can f***ing win yet!"  
  
The robot whirred gently, and the cat turned its head towards Cid. Reeve's voice echoed through the speaker.  
  
"Of course I don't know if we can win. But I know that we can't lose either. We have crushed Shinra, we have defeated Jenova on more than one occasion, and we have even destroyed the WEAPONs. You can't honestly say that we are weak?"  
  
A tentacle of energy erupted from the hole in the centre of the cave, heating the air around it, causing it to hiss loudly. This startled Cid, who dropped his cigarette into the tentacle, and it instantly vanished.  
  
"Christ. That's f***ing crazy. I can't believe we have to go down there. The centre of the planet ... pretty f***ing scary." He turned to look at the big Mog again. "How are things going back in Midgar?"  
  
"Pretty good. Some of the people in the slums helped me to get out of prison. When I'm not helping you lot, the Turks are helping me get people out of Midgar. Reno especially seems pretty eager. I guess now that Shinra is gone, that maybe he can repay his debt to society." Reeve's voice suddenly took a sadder tone. "I just hope that what we are doing here will stop Meteor ...  
  
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His long, dirty trousers, suffocating under the soles of his shoes, were rubbing against the grubby floor beneath him, whilst his red hair was made even more outstanding by being bathed in the red light above. At the moment, he was barking orders at the residents of the slums to 'get their asses in gear'.  
  
The huge, ominous ball of magic was barely a few kilometres away now, and every one of your senses could feel it's presence. A bald man, a tower of fortitude, gazed directly at the apocalyptic ultimatum, its hellish figure imprinting itself on the back of his eyes, hidden behind his dark glasses. No emotion riddled his face, and the screaming fanatics could leave no impact on him whatsoever. His time was near, he thought, so he had to stay strong till the end ... for the others around him. Elena walked up to him, her eyes damp with tears, and she sat down on a rock beside Rude. She stared with envious awe at Reno, who now seemed to be able to control the slum inhabitants. "I don't think the seriousness of the situation has hit him yet. Lucky sh*t!"  
  
Rude mumbled in a bass tone: "Don't get angry. He's probably suffering more than you anyway. You know that your family is gonna be safe, at least when it hits, because they live in Junon. Our ... families, they lived here; Midgar isn't only the home to Shinra, it's the home to me and him as well"  
  
"Then how come you two aren't showing it like I am!" she shrieked, visibly crying now. Rude made no effort to comfort her at first, but when she got worse, he sat down and put his arm around her.  
  
"Women tend to get more emotional than men, even at little things. I think we are just deluding ourselves ... trying to stall the effects of our ... our ..." His voice suddenly sounded quite vulnerable, and he stood up quickly, walking off in a monotone rush to the edge of the city. "I'm going to Kalm," he said, just before walking out of the door," I'm gonna see how Reeve is doing". 


	2. Calm Before the Storm 2

.........Chapter 2: Calm before the Storm 2.........  
  
The refugees were crowding around the shops in Kalm. Some even had to stay outside, or they went to the Chocobo Farm. Fortunately, the able bodied inhabitants of Kalm had been making tents just for this possibility, so presently they were setting up their temporary homes.  
  
By this time everybody knew what was going on. They knew of Sephiroth, Shinra's effect on the planet, and what in the world Meteor was. But they didn't know what it was going to do when it hit. No-one knew that.  
  
Even though there were many families outside, the bustling crowd inside Kalm was still large. Podiums had been built around the reactor in the middle of the town, and inn keepers were handing out sheets and pillows. The noise was tremendous, a loud buzz of worry, fear and anticipation. Even here, the bloody roar of Meteor was looming on the horizon.  
  
Rude made his way through the nylon tents, paving a path through the few empty spaces between them. Small kids looked up in awe and the size of the man, calling their friends over to look. Rude smiled gently at thought of his little fan club as he strode into the town, even the adults stopped to stare. At first he had to push his way through the cowering crowd, but after he had made an impression on a few using his fist, they made way for him. Walking up the steps near the items shops, he even managed to push someone of the stairs, with commendable subtlety, letting the man crowd surf a bit. Finally Rude reached his destination. He stopped to a halt outside the weapon shop, and the light emitting from the upstairs window caught his attention. He murmured at the thought of who was up there, and passed to through the door.  
  
"Sorry, we're not open," the owner said, not even looking up from the pornographic book he was fantasying over. Rude stealthily stepped up to the counter, his shadow now covering the book the owner was reading. "I said, we're not open." The old man repeated, now looking up from his book. Rude's vocal chords purred into life.  
  
"I'm here to see Reeve."  
  
"Sorry, but he told me he doesn't want to see anyone,"  
  
"I'm here to see Reeve."  
  
"I heard that the last time, but the answer is still no. Now leave me in peace, and get out my ..."  
  
Before he could finish his sentence, Rude had him pinned against a cabinet, wheezing for air. With the man's frail body about to snap, Rude's attention was caught by a loud crash upstairs. He dropped the lecher, and ran up the stairs. Swinging the door open with a bang, he found Reeve struggling to pick a computer monitor off the floor. He walked up to him, and with relative ease lifted the equipment back onto the desk. Reeve looked up to the big troll, smiled a thanks, before taking a drink of tea. The dark room was barely lit, the only light from a small bulb and the huge amount of Reeve's hardware. The sloping roof not only made it like an attic, but also made sure Rude could only stand up straight at one side of the room.  
  
"Is all that stuff necessary?" Rude asked sarcastically; he already knew the answer.  
  
"Of course. Cait Sith isn't just any old robot, even you should know that. Anyway, I'm guessing you came for a progress report." Rude nodded in agreement. "Well, they are resting at the top of some sort of cavern. The reception is getting a bit iffy because they are so near the centre of the planet. Tentacles and flares of energy keep hitting the ledge we're on."  
  
"I'll believe this lifestream crap when I see it." A red haired man was leaning against the doorway, startling Reeve enough that he fell of his stool.  
  
"You're getting better Reno; I barely noticed you coming in. Where's Elena?" Rude said, helping Reeve, now covered in tea, back onto his seat.  
  
"I got fed up with dealing with crying children and worried mums, so I gave her my electro rod to control them." The three men laughed at the thought; except for Rude of course. After this small 'happy' moment, Reno looked towards the small window facing into the town. Ducking under a wooden crossbeam, he walked over to peer out the window, only to be greeted by the muffled hum of the crowd and the ominous glare of Meteor. To think, he once knew and spoke to Sephiroth, and although quiet, he seemed a powerful and noble man. But now, he was trying to destroy his home world, in order to obtain power to become some sort of God. He would risk the destruction of the world he wishes to rule for that? Reno felt sick to his stomach. Although he was a Turk, he still had a sense of morality. All those he had killed may not agree, Reno had always felt he had one. His fist clenched at the thought as he heard Reeve asking a question to him. "Say that again?" Reno asked, trying to keep a straight face.  
  
"Where's you're family staying?" Reeve repeated, swivelling away from the machinery.  
  
"Oh, I don't have any immediate family besides my brother," he winced, "but he's staying with his family in Rocket Town. He was an engineer on No.26*; he got the good job."  
  
"No girlfriends to make amends with before it's too late?" Reeve said with a touch of humour.  
  
"Watch your f***ing mouth!" Reno shouted at Reeve, stomping up to him, "Why don't you turn around and stare into your computer, and just carry on pretending everything is going to be alright. Now is not the time for f***ing jokes!" Reno turned and stormed out of the room, cursing under his breath. Reeve looked down to his feet, a little hurt. Rude considered comforting him, but decided it would probably be a better idea to deal with the rampaging Reno first, and walked through the door. Reeve almost laughed when he heard the shopkeeper scrambling to get out of Rude's way. He knew Reno didn't mean it, probably was angry because of the stress of the situation. Reeve wondered why he didn't feel such pressure. Reno was worried about his family, and his friends ... but why wasn't he worried. "Hmmph ... no family to speak of," he said to himself. Then it hit home.  
  
Whenever Reeve was controlling Cait Sith, he was effectively invincible. If the robot ever malfunctioned or 'died', he could easily just get a new model. This made Reeve feel that no harm could ever befall him. He was a different person with Cait. Not timid, nor shy, he was a macho ... um ... robot, all the way to the end. He became so involved in being Cait Sith, he even embarrassed himself by begging the police who arrested him to let him keep his equipment. It hadn't hit till now that it wasn't just a game seen through a computer screen anymore. Meteor was close to hitting Midgar, and if he lost now, he would never get a chance to play again. He couldn't rely on Cait Sith to save him from this one, he would have to rely on his own personality ... which at the moment wasn't doing him any good. Meteor would kill them all. And if that didn't Sephiroth would the planet and everyone on it. The speakers hummed.  
  
"Um ... Cait? ... or Reeve? Whoever you are, we're, um, getting reading to go down now."  
  
Reeve wiped the tears from his eyes, and swivelled around to see Yuffie in the monitor, with the rest of his friends behind her.  
  
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......Author's Notes......  
  
* = No.26 was the rocket ship in Rocket Town. After the project failed, the engineers and anyone who worked on it stayed around the site, forming the modern Rocket Town.  
  
Hope you are enjoying my little story. I found this 2nd chapter much easier to write than the first, though dealing with three people with names beginning with 'r' was getting tedious. Look out for the next chapter soon. I should be doing, but I'm writing this instead lol. 


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